It’s been a really busy few weeks. Immediately after getting back from Turks & Caicos at the end of October, I made two trips up to San Francisco for work. I seriously don’t know how frequent travelers do it. I was tired after three weeks of traveling. Then this past week I got sick with a cold and sore throat. Just what I needed.

And now here we are with the holidays upon us. YIKES! I feel so behind at life.

Ok, continuing on with my Mediterranean trip report. Today I’m covering our day along the Amalfi Coast.

Thursday, September 5

The port was Naples, which is another one with multiple destination options. Some people visit Naples itself, Pompeii, or Capri. Rob & I chose to visit the Amalfi Coast, specifically Positano and Sorrento. We seriously considered Pompeii but I knew it would be way too hot and we’d end up being too tired for that. The Amalfi Coast seemed more scenic and relaxing, which is what we needed at this point in the trip.

We decided to use Rome in Limo again and even went with two of the same people (a hilarious mother/daughter pair) from our Rome excursion. It ended up being just the four of us (we were originally scheduled to have a group of 8 but the others bailed) making it a really intimate day.

Our driver Giovanni picked us up at the port and right away I knew it would be a good day. He was hilarious! He had that really dry, subtle Italian humor. SO GREAT.

Almost immediately after we started our drive, Mount Vesuvius came into view on our left. But the more spectacular vantage point came once we got to the other side of the Gulf of Naples.

This is the view looking towards Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast. The island of Capri is just beyond this peninsula.

The stretch of coastline on the southern side of the Sorrentine Peninsula is the region known as the Amalfi Coast. The roads are winding but the view is so beautiful you don’t even notice.

As we got close to Positano, we stopped to take in the view. Stunning!

I adored it here. We definitely need to visit again someday.

There was a fruit stand at this stop selling giant lemons. Giovanni gave us a couple of the lemons to hold and told us to “make photos.” LOL.

Our first major stop was Positano where we had some free time to walk down and visit the main square. It was a steep walk but the pathway is slightly shaded with a canopy of flowers and there are shops, cafes and restaurants to visit along the way. Once we reached the bottom, we were at the beach which was packed with people sunbathing, enjoying the water or taking a ferry to other destinations.

As we looked back to where we came from, the view was simply breathtaking. The colorful houses and buildings, the bright flowers, the hilly backdrop… it’s spectacular.

The beach was pretty rocky — no soft sand beaches to be found here.

On the walk back up the main pathway.

Patti, one of the ladies on our tour, had stayed in Positano years ago for work and mentioned that she loved the view from the hotel La Sirenuse (also featured in a cute Robert Downey, Jr & Marisa Tomei romantic comedy called Only You). Giovanni agreed but his opinion was that Il San Pietro di Positano had a superior view. He ended up taking us to both to compare!

First up was La Sirenuse…

Pretty phenomenal.

And here’s the view from Il San Pietro looking back towards the main square of Positano. I think it’s a draw. Both views are INSANE. In a good way, of course.

From Positano we made our way back towards Naples to Sorrento where we stopped for a late lunch. I was too consumed with good company and laughter to remember the name of the restaurant or take any photos of our food. HORRORS.

After a long and leisurely lunch, we had just a short time to walk down the main drag and buy some souvenirs. The region is known for its lemons so we picked up some hard candies and limoncello to take home with us. Mmmm. I pretty much love lemon anything.

Of all 4 port days on our cruise, this was my MOST favorite. The Amalfi Coast was so magical — the scenic cliffs, hillside views, the sparkling blue water & sky. Not to mention the charming towns and the friendly locals. It was a perfect day.

Back in Naples, we found the Disney Magic docked at the port with a great view of Mount Vesuvius.

Our day trip to the Amalfi Coast was a great teaser of the region — I foresee visits to the towns of Amalfi and Ravello and a ferry ride to Capri in our future. 🙂

For more pics, check our Flickr here.